'Multispecies justice:' University pushes to give plants and animals the same legal, equal rights as humans

Researchers from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney are making a push to give animals and plants the same rights that humans have.

Oh, is that so?

According to the Daily Mail, some university researchers are demanding that animals and plants have the same type of "multispecies justice" that humans are entitled to. Some of the program's critics are calling the notion "utter madness."

The concept is part of the university's idea for a research program called "FutureFix." The program is geared to creating broad solutions for allegedly important issues that plague the globe. The researchers are set to host a four-series symposium in June to address ideas of how justice can be equally applied to both animals and plants.

The site reveals that the symposium will provide a platform for "informal reflection, discussion and project planning."

Researchers and academics from around the world are set to visit the campus to discuss solutions to the globe's big problems. Participants are encouraged to "think beyond liberal and individualist conceptions of justice."

"Multispecies justice," according to the faculty website, "states that legal rights also extends to plants and animals."

The outlet notes that the faculty website reveals that legal rights and protections should be extended to both animals and plants in the name of justice.

"Justice is typically thought to be the preserve of humans, and advocacy has sought to ensure all humans are subjects of justice," the website reads. "But harms inflicted on animals and the environment are coming to be understood as injustices."

What are people saying about this?

Dr. Bella d'Abrera, director of the Institute of Public Affairs Western Civilisation, called the idea "utter madness."

"This is utter madness … Australian taxpayers need to be made aware that their hard-earned dollars are funding such frivolous and irrelevant research," D'Abrera said, according to the outlet.

D'Abrera noted that "the same people who want to kill cows to stop climate change now want to give wombats the vote."

"The fact that they genuinely believe multispecies justice to be a global problem reveals the massive divide between the real world and the academy," she added.